June 1st marks the beginning of the Summer Reading Program at Manhattan Public Library. Every year the program has a different theme, and this year the theme is “Build a Better World.” When it comes to making changes for a better world, it’s only reasonable to first be familiar with the world we live in today. Translated literature is a wonderful way to gain a more global perspective. It is estimated that only approximately 3% of books published in the English language are translations. Hopefully, that number will continue to rise, but in the meantime we can start by reading the translations that are available.

In our own children’s collection, the picture book section is home to the largest supply of translations. For toddler listeners, Satoshi Iriyama’s Happy Spring, Chirp! translated from Japanese, follows a baby chick on a quest to find a gift for its aunt and meets other animals, as the reader lifts flaps. Little ones will laugh at Andrée Poulin’s Going for a Sea Bath, originally written in French, as a father attempts to make bath time more appealing for his daughter by bringing creatures from the ocean for her to play with in the tub—eventually they just have to have bath time in the ocean. Also translated from French, Blanche Hates the Night by Sibylle Delacroix, is a silly story about not wanting to go to sleep, and Hannah’s Night by Komako Sakai is a translation from Japanese about those early morning play sessions, when the youngest wakes up before the rest of the family. Today and Today by Kobayashi Issa is a collection of classic Haiku poetry with lovely atmospheric illustrations by G. Brian Karas. A Little Bitty Man: and Other Poems for the Very Young by Halfdan Rasmussen is a translation of playful Danish poetry.

For listeners with longer attention spans, more delightful translated picture books include Beatrice Alemagna’s The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy, originally written in French, which is a silly romp that details a child’s search through all the neighborhood shops for the perfect birthday gift for her mom. On My Way to Buy Eggs by Chen Chih-yuan, first published in Mandarin Chinese, is about all the small adventures you can have between home and the local corner store. Red by Jan De Kinder was originally published in Dutch in Belgium. Red is a sensitive narrative about teasing that goes too far, and tells how to speak up and be kind. First written in Hebrew, Just Like I Wanted by Elinoar Keller illuminates the trial and error of making art, and the fun of adapting, as a girl’s drawing morphs into something new each time she thinks she’s made a mistake.

Nonfiction translations are less common than picture books in our collection, but we have a few: In the Forbidden City by Chiu Kwong-chiu is a translation from Mandarin Chinese. A thorough journey through the Forbidden City in Beijing, it has illustrations of the entire grounds, and it has a small magnifying glass to aid the reader’s inspection of the meticulous drawings. Originally published in German, Best Foot Forward: Exploring Feet, Flippers, and Claws by Ingo Arndt is a photographic exploration of the many types of feet that animals have. Traveling Butterflies by Susumu Shingu is a bright and simple chronicle of the life and migration of monarch butterflies which was first written in Japanese.

Some of the great children’s classics were translations. Starting with the Grimm’s Fairy Tales from German, Hans Christian Andersen from Danish and Charles Perrault from French. Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking was translated from Swedish, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince from French, and Carlo Collodi’s Adventures of Pinocchio was originally printed in Italian. Modern chapter book translations include the popular fantasy Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke, who wrote them in German, and many would be surprised to know that the Geronimo Stilton books, so voraciously consumed by elementary students, were written in Italian. Fans of the Warriors series will love The Cat Who Came in off the Roof written by Annie G. Schmidt in Dutch. It tells the story of a reporter, on the verge of being fired for writing too much about cats, who starts getting juicy news from the cats, themselves.

While you’re reading books from all over the world, come by the children’s room to sign up for summer reading. We will have a come-and-go kick-off party on June 3rd from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. with crafts, performances and lots of balloons. Then, our weekly summer clubs and storytimes will begin on June 5th.

It is time to get out and go for a hike! The library recently hosted a book reading and signing on Earth Day for Jill Haukos’ The Autumn Calf, which tells the story of a baby bison born on the Konza Prairie. Illustrator Joyce Mirhan Turley was also present to talk about the artwork for the picture book. Haukos has offered to give away free copies of The Autumn Calf to any teachers, libraries or schools who contact her; just e-mail konzaed@ksu.edu.

The story includes some information on the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, and it is the perfect introduction for kids to start learning more about the Konza, even visiting it to hike the trail. Lately, articles and facebook posts have highlighted how the Konza Prairie Biological Station’s trail is sometimes misused. Luckily, Haukos, who is the director of education there, says they are keeping the trail available for hikers, and they continue to educate the public about their rules and explain why it is so important to follow them.

We can all help by following any posted rules at outdoor sites, and by instilling those values in our kids or students, no matter where they are encountering nature. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics website, LNT.org, includes resources for promoting good habits when exploring nature, camping or hiking.

A number of new titles at the library will inspire children who seek to understand the world around them, to treat our environment with respect, and to learn from nature.

The New Ocean: The Fate of Life in a Changing Sea by Bryn Barnard describes the current state of the Earth’s waters, and how the changes in pollutants, climate, and people’s eating habits and use of technology within the ocean are affecting ocean life. The book’s succinct and understandable format covers six “sea dwellers,” and shows how they have changed and what consequences may come in the future. While jellyfish and blue-green algae thrive, some of the “losers” in this scenario are orcas, sea turtles, tuna and coral reefs…and ultimately, us.

Booklist Reviews notes that “Despite the unsettling statistics, including ocean acidification and dead zones, the evolutionary wonders on display will hopefully inspire readers to help protect this vulnerable, vital Earth system.” Rather than protecting our children from learning the disturbing facts, Barnard informs young readers and then calls on them to study science and nature to find new solutions.

In Wonderful Nature, Wonderful You, author Karin Ireland and illustrator Christopher Canyon, use each double page spread to feature two or more animals or parts of nature, and relate them to a child’s emotions or attitudes. In one set, Ireland focuses on the lion not always catching its dinner, and zebras moving until they find grass to graze on. She adds, “Life isn’t always fair. Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you want them to. Don’t blame someone else, and don’t blame yourself, either. Just try again.” Children will gain some understanding by comparing their own experiences to those of animals and nature, knowing these shared experiences are a part of living and learning.

This book provides a great entry into exploring nature with kids in a thought-provoking way. An appendix adds activities for home or the classroom. A simple one is to release a child into a natural area and have them choose one object to study, and then complete these sentences about it: “I notice,” “I wonder,” and “It reminds me.” Every child’s story will be unique and meaningful to them.

For a truly harrowing adventure, both children and adults will appreciate Samantha Seiple’s Death on the River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Amazon Adventure. In 1913, Roosevelt was offered the high-risk opportunity to travel with the explorer Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon down an uncharted river in the Amazon, the River of Doubt. He jumped at the chance, and brought along his son Kermit as well.

In 190 pages, Seiple details the many challenges, dangers and life-threatening encounters with piranhas, malaria, poisoned arrows, and river rapids to name a few. Roosevelt’s charisma, loyalty and persistence add much to the tale, which includes quotes and stories from the diaries, letters, articles and lectures of T. R. and his son, as well as others from the Roosevelt-Rondon Expedition. Before his death in 1919, Roosevelt wrote to a friend, “I am an old man now, and I did have a murderous trip down South, but it was mighty interesting.” Teddy Roosevelt will never look the same to these kids when they study the 26th president.

Early spring days of tree buds and hungry birds make me look for books that include the outdoors. Here are some great new children’s books for nature lovers.

Applesauce Weather by award-winning poet Helen Frost is a gentle story made of poems that surround the reader like a soft fall breeze. Faith knows her Uncle Arthur will arrive when the first apple falls from the apple tree, but this year is different because Aunt Lucy is not there with him. Uncle Arthur seems to have lost his stories and his twinkle, but Faith is determined to help him find them both again. Frost delicately shares this short story of family love and grief, of weather and trees and grass beneath your feet. Applesauce Weather would be a perfect family read-aloud under a shady tree this spring.

For a page-turning adventure, try Linda Coggin’s The Dog, Ray. When 12-year-old Daisy meets an unfortunate end, her soul is returned to earth for unfinished business. What makes things tricky is that she returns as a dog. As she makes new friends, she is adopted by a loving homeless boy who names her Ray and sticks with her through danger and uncertainty. They travel many miles together, both searching for what they need, until Ray remembers less and less what she came for but fulfills her duty as a dog—to protect her family.

In Otherwise Known as Possum by Maria D. Laso, Possum Porter is a rough and tumble tomboy who soaks up country life with her best dog friend, Traveler, and her best human friend, Tully, by her side. But this story begins just after Momma has passed away, along with the new baby, leaving Possum at the mercy of the nosy Town Ladies who are apt to convince Daddy that “LizBetty” needs a proper education. Shooting pecans from her slingshot while sitting under Momma’s tree, Possum notices, “The Town Ladies were back: It was them Traveler’d heard. They’d swooped onto the porch, all black wings and beady eyes like giant crows, beaks fixing to stick into our business. I considered taking a shot. After all, a crow is a crow, and I have dead-keen aim, on account of I am naturally gifted for such things.” Possum’s honest, rebellious voice is sure to strike a chord with many kids, as she navigates the social hierarchy of the one-room school house, loses friends, makes friends, and saves her daddy from a romance…with the teacher, no less!

Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King is sort of a “boy and his dog” book, except that the critter Obe Devlin has found is not a dog. It is not a cat, possum, pig, or anything Obe has ever seen before. In fact, as Obe reached out to touch it for the first time, he felt it “was totally, unquestionably, certainly, worryingly not a dog.” Obe is bullied by the kids in his neighborhood so he avoids them and instead spends time at Devlin Creek, pulling out the trash other people have dropped in. When he befriends the plastic-eating animal he names Marvin Gardens, Obe has even more reason to protect the Devlin land, and all of nature, from the pollution and urbanization threatening to take over. Kids will find an unlikely heroic pair in Obe and Marvin.

Kids can join us during spring break this week for a Nature Storytime at 11:00 on Thursday, and ZooFari Tails Storytime at 10:00 on Friday. Other events include kids’ yoga, CanTEEN, Chess Club and a free kids’ movie. Check the library calendar for details.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13

10:15 a.m. Free Face Painting, kids PreK through 6th grade
Allison Booth of Painting Pearls will be in the library to add some fun and magic to your face (or hand, or arm) for the day. Hearts will be today’s theme!

3:00 p.m. Odd Squad Math Challenge, kids K through 3rd grade
Here’s a case for Manhattan’s own Odd Squad: Dangerous Dobbles are on the loose! We will work together to find them all and put things right again with stellar sorting and classifying skills. Then it’s time for the Shape-Up Quest in the Children’s Room. Report your findings at Headquarters and create an odd-shaped snack.

4:30 p.m. Tween Club DIY Creations, kids 4th through 6th grade
Craft to your heart’s content with all forms of duct tape. You bring an idea and we’ll make it happen!

Christmas Storytimes

Tuesday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 14 at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.Suggested for kids, preK – 3rd grade
Librarians will present festive stories and songs about Christmas. Each child will get a jingle bell bracelet to take home. After the storytime, children are invited to tell Santa what is on their wish list.

Winter break is approaching and although the weather has been mild, the fact remains: winter break means kids cooped up at home. To help keep cabin-fever at bay, come to the library and stock up on some of these fun books with activities for the indoors.

If your kids are crafty, check out some titles from our Arts and Crafts Neighborhood. Given some duct tape and time, your child can make everything from bags to bracelets following the directions in “Sticky Fingers: DIY Duct Tape Projects” by Sophie Maletsky. They can learn the basics of fiber arts in “Knit, Hook, and Spin” by Laurie Carlson, which has sections on felting, knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving and even dyeing, with simple but fun projects. Noisemakers can use household materials to make musical instruments as outlined in “High-Tech DIY Projects with Musical Instruments” by Maggie Murphy. Fans of Star Wars or the Origami Yoda series will love “Art2-D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling” by Tom Angleberger, which contains origami and drawing instructions for Star Wars characters.

All the diligent LEGO builders can find inspiration in “The Lego Architect” by Tom Alphin, with photos of wonderful LEGO recreations of famous structures and instructions on making some of the simpler buildings. LEGO architects can challenge themselves with the house and vehicle instructions in “The LEGO Adventure Book” by Megan H. Rothrock or “Awesome LEGO Creations with Bricks You Already Have” by Sarah Dees, which has instructions for building everything a LEGO aficionado could want: houses, vehicles, furniture, plants, animals, and even LEGO versions of board games.

Budding chefs will enjoy “The Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids” by Ruby Roth. This cookbook has healthy and easy recipes for snacks and a few main dishes that older kids could make by themselves. Then, kids can turn the kitchen into a lab with “Exploring Kitchen Science” by the Exploratorium or “Kitchen Science Lab for Kids” by Liz Lee Heinecke, which both use household items and kitchen ingredients to explore scientific concepts through straightforward experiments.

For fans of picture puzzles, “Art Auction Mystery: Find the Fakes, Save the Sale!” by Anna Nilsen is an advance “look-and-find” book that asks the reader to help solve the mystery and find the forger by comparing images of the original paintings with images of fakes.

No matter what your children enjoy, they can find something at the library to pique their interest over winter break.

S.T.E.M. education is opening doors for young people by offering them different ways to learn about science, technology, engineering and math, and by seeing how those disciplines are incorporated into our every day lives, from our homes, our world, and beyond. The library is the perfect place to explore S.T.E.M. ideas, no matter your age.

Here are some titles that could be starting points for introducing S.T.E.M. concepts through stories of real people. As ideas spark, children can wonder off through the subject “neighborhoods” in the Children’s Room and take home a pile of books to peruse later.

Remember learning about the Fibonacci code? Joseph D’Agnese’s Blockhead is an intriguing picture book about Leonardo Fibonacci’s challenging life and his special discovery of number sequences in nature. Similarly, Paul Erdos’s unusual life is recounted in Deborah Heiligman’s The Boy Who Loved Math. “Uncle Paul” Erdos was strange and socially inept, yet he was beloved by many, and he furthered the study of mathematics in numerous areas.

Kids who are into popular mainstream shows will appreciate the Batman Science series which explores the “real-world science and engineering” of Batman’s suits, vehicles and utility belt. The Max Axiom, Super Scientistgraphic novel series presents S.T.E.M. topics through comic book adventures.

Hands-on kids will enjoy the many books with instructions and ideas for projects they can create themselves. 3-D Engineering: Design and Build Your Own Prototypes with 25 Projects provides enough instruction for kids to test strategies for building anything from bridges to alarms. Lego has produced a whole slew of big, exciting books full of ideas for new things to build, such as the Lego Adventure books. The books foster imaginative creations and experimenting with structures.

No one is too young to experience S.T.E.M. Babies and toddlers have a natural curiosity that leads them to taste, touch, explore and experiment with everything around them. While this can make childcare a little hectic, parents can easily encourage children by asking and answering questions, describing things to increase vocabulary, and allowing children to play safely with a variety of household items. A new board book series called “Baby Loves” by Ruth Spiro captures the enthusiasm for S.T.E.M. In Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering, simple sentences and colorful, bright illustrations present questions and answers about things that fly – birds, airplanes, and a rocket. Andrea Beatty’s picture books — Ada Twist, Scientist, Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect – are also good introductions for younger listeners.

Experience S.T.E.M. at library programs, too! Every Tuesday, Chess Club for all ages and abilities meets on the first floor of the library, starting at 5:30. It is run by the K-State Chess Club, and beginners are welcome. S.T.E.M. Club for K-3rd graders meets on the second Thursday of the month from 4:00-5:00 in the Children’s Room. This week, kids will find out if they really know the story of The Three Little Pigs. Activities include exploring various building materials, learning about their properties, and even building little houses to test against the big bad wolf. Later in the year, library staff will be incorporating Sphero robots into some programs for different ages. The library is a great resource for getting your kids excited about S.T.E.M.

As babies grow into toddlers and begin exploring the world around them, books play a very important role. Books offer an experience outside of their everyday world, as well as access to vocabulary and concepts that will be important as their language develops. Not unlike other objects in their lives, babies interact with books by chewing on them and throwing them around. Because of these developmentally appropriate actions, it is vital to offer sturdy books for them to play with. Enter the board book. A board book is made of thick paperboard. The paperboard is used for the covers and the inside pages. A board book is specially scored, folded and bound, unlike traditional hardback binding. Board books are generally smaller than paperback or hardback picture books, making them easier for tiny hands to grasp. Manhattan Public Library has a great selection of board books. Here are a few that we might suggest starting with.

Touch and feel books: Even though they don’t yet have words to describe what they are experiencing, babies take in the world around them with all their senses. Books that have different textures that the baby can feel only expands their view. Putting books in their mouths is a developmentally appropriate action. Having shiny and dull illustrations offers depth perception understanding. Offer them books about animals that have pretend fur and scales. Check out books with vehicles that are squishy and shiny. The DK Touch and Feel series is a great series to start with when introducing your child to sensory books.

High contrast books: Some board books contain illustrations only in black and white. The high contrast in color of these books is developmentally appropriate for younger babies. When very young, babies can only take in illustrations or things around them when there is a stark difference in color value. As they develop their eyesight, introducing books with bright colors is a great idea. Author Tana Hoban has many books with simple black and white illustrations.

Simple concept books: It is never too early to introduce simple learning concepts to babies. Books that feature numbers, colors and the alphabet will help them begin their journey of learning. Teaching shapes to children directly correlates to their learning of numbers and the alphabet. These books also allow them to flip around in the book instead of reading it straight through. A few good titles to consider are ABC Alphabet Fun and My Very First Book of Numbers.

Books with real photos: As is true for adults, it is important for babies to see themselves in books, as well as things and people that are different from them. Many board books feature photos of babies expressing different emotions, or photos of real animals or toys. When babies see real photos in the books they are reading, it makes it easier for them to identify objects and people in real life. I See Me is a great example of a book that contains photos of babies on the move.

Nursery rhyme books: Reading books with rhymes helps children develop a sense of rhythm when reading. Hearing similar sounds over and over gives meaning to the words themselves. Books containing nursery rhymes allow parents to repeat the same rhymes over and over again, solidifying the rhythm and flow of the text. Manhattan Public Library offers collections such as The Real Mother Goose Board Book or books with just one rhyme as the text of the book, like Humpty Dumpty.

Manhattan Public Library has hundreds of board books available for checkout, including the aforementioned titles and series. Library card holders have no limit as to the amount of books they can check out. Youth Services staff are available to recommend more good titles and to talk more about early literacy skills and child development.

For families with school age kids, this is the weekend when everything catches up to us. It’s time to clean up the room, set out the school supplies, get new shoes and a new haircut. Time to try to get excitable summer-smitten kids to feel sleepy at 8 p.m. School is here!

Along with the new duds and backpacks, kids might be carrying additional worries or trepidations as they enter school halls. Reading some of these books together might ease their stress and put a positive and humorous spin on the beginning of the school year.

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex (The True Meaning of Smekday) humorously covers the well-worn territory of first day nerves. Of course, the children coming to school have a wide range of emotions and experiences, but what about the school itself? The new school is worried and excited, friendly and embarrassed, and finally kind of comfortable, too. Artwork by the most recent Caldecott Medal winner Matt de la Pena (Last Stop on Market Street) is a bonus.

Frank and Lucky Get Schooled is a treat for little learners who enjoy a bit of intellectual content in their picture books. Newbery Medal winner Lynne Rae Perkins introduces a boy and his canine best buddy as they experience running and playing together, as well as time apart during the school day. Although they are in different situations, both boy and dog learn important lessons. Readers will get just a taste of fascinating topics like molecules, infinity, and fractions through the eyes of Frank and Lucky.

Kindergarten is Cool by Linda Marshall will give those 5 and 6 year olds a better idea of what to expect when they walk into their first school classroom. For those just entering preschool, Bear’s Big Day by Salina Yoon addresses the paradox of wanting to be an independent big kid, but not ready to leave the toddler realm entirely. Need a gift for a teacher or a great story to volunteer to read to the class? Todd Parr’s simple text and bright illustrations in Teachers Rock! affirm all the ways teachers impact their students. It will be a favorite for Teacher Appreciation Week, too.

Older readers will find out how a bad school situation can get much worse in Mac Barnett’s second chapter book about the Terrible Two. Miles Murphy and Niles Sparks are best friends, and they are members of the Terrible Two pranksters club…the only two members. When one of their school pranks goes too far, their annoying principal Mr. Barkin is relieved from duty, but in his place reigns the even more horrific new principal, Mr. Barkin’s father! Filled with humor and funny illustrations, this will suit fans of Captain Underpants and Wimpy Kid. The Terrible Two and The Terrible Two Get Worse are available at the library, or as downloadable ebooks from the Sunflower eLibrary (Overdrive) and Hoopla, so you can read it anywhere you like.

Last but not least, don’t miss out on Gary Paulsen’s new novella for middle to upper elementary grades. Paulsen (Hatchet, Mr. Tucket, Liar Liar) is a seasoned writer for kids and knows how to keep their attention with just the right touch of sarcasm and wit. In Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat, he throws six random students together in a bizarre situation that ultimately leads to new connections and friendships. Teachers will also love this book for its high level vocabulary, short length, and the opportunity for a class activity using the second half of the book – a one-act play retelling the story.

When you visit the library to check out new books, you’ll notice that back to school at the library means new, exciting programs for youth. Look at the library’s events online to find out about STEM Club for K-3rd graders, Tween Club for 4th-6th graders, and CanTEEN for middle and high schoolers. Homeschool Afternoons are back, as well as Read with a Dog Sundays, and nine Storytime options each week. Hundreds of kids participated in the Summer Reading program this year, 2,902 to be exact, and we hope you all will be back this fall!

Manhattan’s parks are an excellent place to read! Grab a spot under a tree and relax the afternoon away. While you’re out and about, find these twelve features and bring your entry to the library for a chance to win prizes like gift certificates to restaurants, t-shirts, and Target gift cards. PRINT BROCHURE HERE